The 2014 Junos are officially on! Saturday's three-hour industry-only music gala saw 35 of 41 awards handed out, and many of the weekend’s major hopefuls, and stars, went home with hardware.

Among them was Arcade Fire, who took home Alternative Album of the Year for their indie behemoth “Reflektor.” (The group also won in the same category for previous efforts “The Suburbs” in 2011 and “Neon Bible” in 2008.)

Later, it was Tegan and Sara’s 2013 pop opus “Heartthrob” which fittingly won Pop Album of the Year, beating out the respective efforts of Hedley, Michael Bublé, Robin Thicke, and Walk Off the Earth.

The queen of the night was Juno telecast co-host Serena Ryder, who won Artist of the Year, but not before she delivered an expletive-laced speech. “Holy s*** this is great…" said Ryder. "S***. I’m supposed to say stuff.”

But it was Matt Mays who threw out the night’s first f-bomb, while accepting the trophy for Rock Album of the Year – a moment he almost missed altogether, getting to the stage just minutes before host Jian Ghomeshi presented another award.

“I was in the hallway, just hanging out," said Mays. "Someone from my label was like ‘You Won!’…I just made it.”

Mays also took a moment to pay tribute to his late guitarist Jay Smith, who suddenly passed away while on tour in 2013. “We lost a good friend and a brother,” Mays said. “It’s been a real tough year for a lot of his friends and family.”

Though Drake was a no-show at the awards gala, he will indeed be coming home with a Juno for his album, “Nothing Was the Same.” The "Started from the Bottom" rapper snagged the trophy for Rap Recording of the Year. He wasn't the only Ontario native to have a big night -- Whitby, Ont. metalheads Protest the Hero reigned victorious in the Metal / Hard Rock category for their crowd-funded fourth effort, “Volition.”

This year marked the first time the general public could livestream the industry-only gala dinner, but many of the unfiltered shenanigans, drunken speeches and excellent sound bytes happened backstage.

One of those moments belonged to Electronic Album of the Year winner, Ryan Hemsworth. The Halifax DJ, who won for “Guilt Trips,” is known for his mashups of everything from J-Pop to Southern rap. Speaking to the press room, Hemsworth joked about his unprejudiced musical tastes.

“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures anymore – everything I like is embarrassing,” he said. “I’m fully embracing it now. When I was growing up and listening to Backstreet Boys when I was in Grade Six, I would have to lie about it and be embarrassed, but now I just remix them and play them in the club and people like it. People trust me to play weird stuff.”

Elsewhere, The Strumbellas snagged Group Roots & Traditional Album of the Year, sharing the glory with Six Shooter alt-country label mate Justin Rutledge, who won Solo Roots & Traditional Album of the Year for his record, “Valleyheart.”

Rutledge addressed the press gallery backstage with beer in hand, and certainly wins the award for drunkest speech of the night. “I was just resting a beer on my crotch area,” said Rutledge. “Why was I resting a beer on my crotch? Because when you’re sitting down it’s just right there. It’s a cup holder. God made it. Your crotch is God’s beer koozie.”

Despite country crooner Brett Kissel's loss to Dean Brody for Country Album of the year, he grabbed the award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. The 23-year old, who couldn’t stop gushing over his wife, Cecelia, also gave the night's most adorable acceptance speech.

“I think I’m gonna keep the Juno wherever my wife thinks it looks best,” Kissel said. “I’m 23 and I have been married for two and a half years. I’ve learned a lesson, that as long as my beautiful wife Cecelia is happy, than I’m going to live a very, very happy life.”

The full list of 2014 Juno Award gala winners is after the nominees slideshow-- the remaining six awards will be announced live, on Sunday, March 30, at 9 p.m.

COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Started With a Song Brett Kissel BAK2BAK*WarnerCrop Circles Dean Brody Open Road*Universal
Country Junkie Gord Bamford Cache*Sony
Small Town Pistols Small Town Pistols 604*Universal
Throw Down Tim Hicks Open Road*Universal

POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY TD)
Wild Life Hedley Universal
To Be Loved Michael Bublé Reprise*Warner
Blurred Lines Robin Thicke Interscope*UniversalHeartthrob Tegan and Sara Warner Bros.*Warner
R.E.V.O. Walk Off the Earth Columbia*Sony

INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
New History Warfare Vol.3: To See More Light Colin Stetson Constellation*OutsideDalmak Esmerine Constellation*Outside
Senna Mahogany Frog MoonJune*Planetworks
Down Home Petr Cancura RootsToBoot*Independent
Invitation The Peggy Lee Band Drip Audio*Fontana North

ROOTS & TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: GROUP (SPONSORED BY WINNIPEG FOLK
FESTIVAL)
The Folk Sinner Lee Harvey Osmond Latent*Fontana North
Bison Ranch Recording Sessions Little Miss Higgins & The Winnipeg Five Independent*Outside
Volume One The Devin Cuddy Band Cameron House*WarnerWe Still Move On Dance Floors The Strumbellas Six Shooter*Warner
Island of Echoes The Wilderness of Manitoba Pheromone*Fontana North

BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY GALAXIE, YOUR MUSICAL UNIVERSE)
Come on Down David Gogo Cordova Bay*Fontana NorthCan You Hear the Music Downchild Linus*eOne
Soulscape Harrison Kennedy Electro-Fi*Outside
My Guitar’s My Only Friend James Buddy Rogers Blue Wave*Independent
All Frequencies MonkeyJunk Stony Plain*Warner

WORLD MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS)
Sabor A Café Adonis Puentes Tumba King*Warner
Lamentation of Swans – A Journey Towards Silence Azam Ali and Loga R.Torkian Terrestrial
Lane*OutsideWalk to the Sea David Buchbinder & Odessa/Havana Tzadik*eOne
Jumbie in the Jukebox Kobo Town Cumbancha*eOne
Lume, Lume Lemon Bucket Orkestra Independent

METAL/HARD MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Heart of Oak Anciients Season of Mist*Sony
Colored Sands Gorguts Season of Mist*Sony
Entrench KEN Mode New Damage*UniversalVolition Protest the Hero Protest*Sony
Dead Language The Flatliners New Damage*Universal

ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
In My Head Alysha Brilla Sunny Jam*Independent
Loved Me Back To Life Céline Dion Columbia*Sony
Dream Catcher Chloe Albert Independent
The Year He Drove Me Crazy Coral Egan Justin Time*Universal
A Christmas Gift To You Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*Universal